We Can’t Wait: Obama Administration Announces Seven Major Renewable Energy Infrastructure Projects that Would Power 1.5 million Homes to be Expedited

As a part of his ‘We Can’t Wait initiative’, President Obama will expedite seven solar and wind energy projects in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming. These job-creating clean energy projects would produce nearly 5,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, to power approximately 1.5 million homes. Power Company of Wyoming, NextEra and BP Wind are some of the companies participating on the projects, and additional expedited infrastructure projects will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Office of Management and Budget is responsible for permitting and reviewing energy efficiency infrastructure projects. The target date for completing the federal permit and review decisions will last between December 2012 and October 2014.

CO2 Emissions in U.S. Drops to 20-year low

The U.S. Energy Information Agency, has announced that the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. The biggest reason: Power plant operators are switching form dirtier-burning coal to cheap and plentiful natural gas.

Although public health experts welcome the shift because it’s reducing the air pollution, they are also concerned about the benefits of natural gas which still emits some CO2, and the drilling environmental consequences, which are not yet fully understood.

In Fuel Cells, Some Hope for Urban Sanitation

At Oregon State University, a team of engineers lead by Hong Liu, an associate professor of biological and ecological engineering, has developed fuel cells that harness a mix of microbes to clean wastewater while producing their own electricity. The fuel cell consists of two electrodes, is a half centimeter thick and holds one cup of water. An article in the New York Times talks about how the researchers hope to build a bigger system and reduce the cost of manufacturing the fuel cells. So far, groups in India, Malaysia and the Netherlands have contacted her about potential partnerships.